SOMSY CAMVAN was born in 1954, a son of Khmu tribe parents and horse traders. Somsy spent the early time of his life in a small village in north Laos. His father sent him to live with a relative in the capital city Vientiane in his late teens to receive an education. After finishing his training in Communications, in 1974, he worked for the government-owned newspaper, "The People's Voice." He was held for questioning in 1979 for suspicions of collaborating with the anti-Government group. Fearing for his safety, Somsy escaped to Canada via Thailand in the late 1980s, where he has been living since in a quiet country home, in the province of Quebec. His work of historical fictions includes "The American Ghost" and "The Other Side of Mekong".